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They walked through a coh an ultra-liht-iron table through the glass patio doors Jason opened the door and stood back to allow Claire to walk out ahead of hiht of the house it took several ht sun Standing up from the table, Harold approached Claire and in a quiet voice said, "Claire, I’m Harold; I’m so pleased to meet you"

Harold was tall and thin with sandy blond hair that was beginning to thin on the top Claire could i up A pair of gold-rireen eyes that could easily be his best feature

She took the offered hand and said, "It’s a pleasure Harold; I really appreciate the hospitality of Liz and yourself"

"No problem at all Claire, I know that you and Jason have work to do this weekend, but I also hope you will have tio for a horseback ride to before you leave"

Jason pulled a seat out for her at the table beside Liz and replied wryly, "I don’t know about that Harold; Claire has a bit of a probleht be healthier for her to remain on her oo feet"

Claire could feel the curious gaze of Harold and Liz as Jason took the seat on her other side Liz reached over to pat Claire’s shoulder and said, "I’ while you’re here Claire If you’d rather not ride, maybe you could take a nice walk around the ranch with Wolf; it’s really beautiful this time of the year"

"I’ for anything else, but thank you very much for the offer," said Claire

Claire felt the urge to kick Jason under the table for his previous co hi smirk in return

"I hope you like chili Claire; it’s one of the few dishes that I can actually hed Liz, "and we’ve soreat Liz" She took a bite of the fragrant chili and looked around the ranch In the distance, she could see a huge building with a corral in the front and severalhorses in it Harold explained those horses were being trained for specific buyers One buyer was purchasing a horse for his daughter who had been an avid rider but tragically blinded in an accident last year His daughter wanted to continue to ride, and they orking on afor the disabled Liz enthusiastically picked up the conversation as Harold paused for a moment to enjoy his lunch

"This is a project that Harold and I started last year, and it’s been so successful Training horses for a person with a specific handicap is challenging and often a long process butthe tears of the first young lady we trained a horse for her that had lost a leg in an auto accident; we both knew this was our calling Harold’s parentsrace horses was really a hobby for theh it has taken an enor, we feel so blessed to be able to give so; you ," exclaihed, "Harold and Liz are about the only two selfless people I’ve ever rel of theirs that they lavish all their love on" Claire looked in the direction that Jason was pointing and saw Wolf running around in a circle chasing his tail and finally falling over as though the effort had cost hi, the meal continued in companionable conversation over the local area and stories of other horses they’d trained

Claire was surprised to find this to be thetime Most of her meals with her mother and Louise were spent in constant trepidation of her itated state when her meetting out etting laid So this lunch seemed to be remarkably pressure free Even Jason who normally was so intense to be around appeared to be relaxed as he pointed out areas of interest around the ranch or told stories froe days It was nice to feel like a part of their group, and even though she was Jason’s secretary and here in an official capacity, she still felt relaxed and carefree; a rare occasion for her

Claire insisted on helping Liz clear the table They walked in the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher together "I know this is none ofhave you and Jason been seeing each other?" asked Liz

Completely confused at this question Claire looked at Liz and said, "do youfor Jason?"

"No," replied Liz, "how long have you been dating him?" For soan to laugh

When she could finally catch her breath she looked at Liz and said between peals of laughter, "Jason would probably be surprised to realize I’m female; much less the object of his rohter and said, "Oh, I think he knows you’re fe across the table I think there wasover there"

"Trust me Liz, he would have more romantic vibes towards Wolf than towards me; we’ve a strictly professional relationship" Claire was vastly amused to think of how shocked Jason would be to think that Liz would consider he had feelings for her His first question would probably be ‘Claire who?’ and the second would be, ‘are you kidding?’